Timeless
by lilkeykey14
Summary: **SUMMARY INSIDE!** GREEK MYTHOLOGY/TWILIGHT
1. Chapter 1

**Timeless—Chapter 1**

**Note from the author:**

** Hey, guys! So, if you've read my other two fanfics, **_**Crescent Borne**_** and **_**Shifted Crescent**_** – both of which are Mercy Thompson fanfics – then you know that this is my third fanfiction! The summary is below, but before I put that up, I just wanted to give you guys some thanks for actually taking the time to read this. It means a lot; it really does.**

**Also, please review, just for this first chapter. If I get enough good responses, then I'll continue this fanfic. Here's the summary:**

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_**When the Cullen coven returns to Forks, they all decide that a bit of house maintenance is in order. After they've cleaned the house from bottom to top, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett set out on a hunt. When they stumble across a cave and discover a mysterious box, riddled with Greek texts, what's the worst that can happen if they open it?**_

_** The most boring town in America is about to get much more interesting.**_

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** Here's a bit more info I think might help you out:**

**Bolded **– past/flashback

_Italics_ – thoughts or emphasis on word(s) and titles

Underlined – note about it at the end of the chapter

Normal – present

**Without further adieu, here's Chapter 1 of Timeless!**

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**Chronos**** POV**

**3200 BC**

**I drew ****Ananke**** after me, one of her hands clutched in mine and the other gracing her swollen belly. Our eldest, ****Isabella****, held her mother's elbow in a tight grip, murmuring reassurances into her ear.**

** "Just a little further, Mother," she whispered. "Just a little further and we'll be safe."**

** I flinched as an explosion sounded and risked a glance behind me. Mount Olympus was in ruins. I could hear ****Ares'**** roars of war, feel the earthquakes of ****Poseidon's**** fury, and sense the touch of ****Zeus'**** thunder as he seared his enemies to a crisp. I quickened my already hurried strides as I heard the unmistakable screeching sound of ****harpies**** as they swooped through the air.**

** "**_**Where is she?**_**" ****Hades'**** voice boomed. "**_**You will give her to me or you will rue the day you defied me!**_**"**

** "Chronos, we must hurry," Ananke spoke, pushing herself to move faster. "It will not be long before he discovers our destination."**

** Finally – **_**finally**_** – we made it to the bespoken location: a cave just off the outskirts of Mount Olympus. I ushered my consort and our eldest into it, waving my hand over the entrance and beckoning forth the power needed to erect a barrier, however temporary it may have been. I turned on Ananke, running my eyes over her fertile form and inspecting her for damage as she sat tiredly on a rocky outcropping. **

** "My dear Chronos," she began, finally capturing her breath, "it is time."**

** "Time for the babe?" Isabella asked, tending to her mother.**

** Ananke shook her head sadly and caught Isabella's hands in her own, though she turned to me. I shook my head, denying her truth.**

** "Ananke, she is our eldest, yet she is inexperienced," I pled with her. "She's yet to know heartache. She's yet to know drudgery, and yet to know sacrifice. To send her away so soon . . . ."**

** "What's this of 'sending me away'?" Isabella demanded.**

**Ananke gave her a stern glance and continued our dialogue. "She will learn, my love," Ananke sighed. "As she must, she will."**

** "Ananke," protested I.**

** She frowned at me. "Chronos, it was I that bore this seed and it was my womb and loins that ached for the release of our child. I carried and nourished our dear Isabella into life; no one wishes more than I that our pain should cease here." She stood and hobbled on unsteady feet into my embrace, setting her trembling hand upon my cheek. "Nevertheless, my love, it cannot be. The evidence may not be palpable, but to all those involved, it cannot be denied. Hades has been restless since her birth; and now, unto us, he has revealed himself and his intentions. Hades is more powerful than ever, more powerful than even **_**Zeus**_** has seen him. The harpies, long thought extinct, now accompany him to the battlefield, and yet, still you wish to keep her here and simply **_**gift**_** him with her? I won't allow it. I cannot. Hades has risked showing himself for her, after more than a millennia of hiding. I know not what he wishes of her, but this, I know: she is more powerful than any of us, and he fears the day she discovers it."**

** I hung my head in defeat, glancing at my Isabella. She was the only other who'd held my heart; the first had been her mother. And it was beginning to seem more and more as if they would be the last.**

** Ananke patted my cheek. "You know what we must do."**

** I breathed deep, preparing myself as I called upon that which had named me the god of time and my consort the goddess of inevitability.**

** "Mother!" Isabella suddenly spoke. "Father! What is this you speak of?"**

** Ananke hobbled to our child and wrapped her in a hug. "Worry not, my dear girl; we shall protect you."**

** "I refuse to be sheltered as if I were a child!" She looked to her mother. "I'm nearly upon my eighteenth year!"**

** "And yet, I've lived thousands of lives of men," Ananke scolded. "I know what is best. And what is best for you is that you sleep – for a very long time, my child."**

** "But, Mother—"**

** "You will not disobey me!" Ananke roared, proving herself to be the goddess that she was. "You will sleep and you will awaken in some strange time. This, I know; it has been foretold." She caressed Isabella's tearful visage as she drew her to the slumber chamber that sat further into the cave, covered in pine weavings and hidden in shadows. It was a small, narrow box. After shooing the pine weaving to the cave floor, Ananke had Isabella move the slumber chamber's lid to the ground. Isabella sobbed as she laid herself into the box.**

** "M-mother," she pled, "please, **_**please**_**, let me stay. I can aid you in your fight. I will not burden; I will support!"**

** "You will do as you've been told," Ananke corrected in a murmur. "You will survive. You will do what we've all failed to accomplish this day." At Isabella's questioning glance, she shook her head. "You will discover your purpose soon enough. For now, you need only survive."**

** Hesitantly, Isabella nodded. I accompanied my consort next to our child's slumber chamber. ****I formed a sigil with my hands: what seemed to be a **_**V**_** and a blocky upside down heart; to construct the symbol, the middle, ring, and pinky fingers met to compose the **_**V**_** and, at their backs, the middles of the index fingers came together as did the tips of the thumbs.**

** "Use your hands, Isabella, and make this sigil," I commanded of her.**

** When she'd done as I'd bid her to, she questioned, "What is this for?"**

** "It is the symbol for **_**timeless**_**," I explained, wrapping my arm around Ananke. "Once I've used the magic needed to activate it, your slumber chamber will close indefinitely – until someone opens it."**

** "Is there any way to select whom may open it?"**

** "It will only open to those with the purest of intentions."**

** A moment later, Isabella nodded. "I will do as you've bid, Mother, Father," she said, lying back in her chamber. "And I will hope, with my heart of hearts, that you both and my unfinished brother may survive."**

** Ananke smiled and landed her lips upon Isabella's forehead and waited as I did the same. "Goodbye, my child," I whispered, sliding the lid atop the box.**

** "Goodbye, Father. Goodbye, Mother." Once more, she sobbed. "I love you."**

** "And we, you, darling," Ananke whispered, setting her hand atop the closed slumber chamber. Then, she grasped my hand in her trembling grip. "Quickly, we must work our magics. Hades has found us."**

** I needn't be told again. Placing my hands atop the box, I murmured the words that would seal that child from all evil that deigned to harm her. As I worked the only magic I had, the ****Sacred Texts**** carved themselves into the surface of the slumber chamber, indefinitely sealing it.**

** As I sent the chamber away from us and Mount Olympus, Ananke's hand found mine and we turned to face that which had sought our creation.**

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**3200 BC**** – if you recall, **_**BC**_** stands for **_**Before Christ**_**. During the BCs, time was counted backwards. So, as time progressed, instead of it increasing (like, 1995, 1996, 1997, etc), it decreased (like 3200, 3100, 3000, etc).**

**Chronos**** – Greek god; personification of time; not to be confused with the Greek Titan, Cronus**

**Ananke**** – Greek goddess of inevitability & the personification of destiny, necessity, and fate**

**Isabella**** – just in case you were wondering: to my knowledge, there isn't a Greek goddess named Isabella**

**Ares**** – Greek god of war, bloodlust, civil order, and manly courage**

**Poseidon**** – Greek god of the sea, rivers, flood, drought, earthquakes, and horses**

**Zues**** – Greek god of sky, weather, law, order, and fate**

**Harpies**** – spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind; they have the wings of birds in place of arms and the clawed feet of birds**

**Hades**** – the King of the Underworld; the Greek god of death, the dead, the hidden wealth of the earth; he presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the dead to due burial**

**Timeless Sigil**** – the Timeless sigil is basically a heart with you index fingers and thumbs and the rest of your fingers just make a V**

**Sacred Texts**** – I'm not completely sure if there's are actually **_**Sacred Texts**_**, but for this story, there is.**

**Thanks for reading, guys! R&R, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Timeless—Chapter 2**

**Note from the author:**

** No matter how I may describe the characters, they're the same as in the original Twilight Saga/movie. However, I will still include character descriptions just to make sure the story flows smoothly. Also, from this chapter on, I'll probably often use quotes from the book. The quotes won't be used in quite the same situations, and they may not be used in the same context that Stephenie Meyer used.**

** I'll probably be in Edward's POV for a while, but this fanfic is definitely multiple POV.**

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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**Bolded **– past/flashback

_Italics_ – thoughts or emphasis on word(s) and titles

Underlined – note about it at the end of the chapter

Normal – present

* – indicates quote(s) or context SM used

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_Edward POV_

_Present Day_

It'd been ninety years since we'd last seen Forks, Washington. And it was still just as small, secluded, and boring as it had been ninety years before.

I sighed as we each carried our boxes of clothes to our original rooms, flitting from home to car and back again. We'd left our home fully furnished, content in the knowledge that we'd someday be back. It took little more than ten minutes to transport the boxes to our respective areas and to put the cars in the garage and, soon enough, we set to cleaning. Carlisle and Esme in the basement; Rosalie and Emmett on the first floor – with the living room; Alice and Jasper on the third floor – with the kitchen; and me in the attic.

My sigh was heavier that time.

It took only thirty minutes to get the house to its original glory. Afterwards, we all met up in the living room. I sat on the three-seater, reading a book that was on Forks High school's reading list for summer reading. Emmett and Jazz were already up to their old antics, throwing words of challenge at one another as they bore down on Xbox 360 controllers. Rosalie and Alice had already procured Alice's laptop and were furiously searching for a new wardrobe for the beginning of school. From what I could gather from Alice's mind, they seemed to be searching for clothes that coincided with the closing of summer and the beginning of fall. Carlisle and Esme, occupying the love seat, simply looked on, intrigued by us all.

I closed my book, not caring to mark the page; I remembered where I'd stopped. "Anyone care for some hunting?"

"I'll go!" Emmett immediately volunteered. With no one to amuse him and his wife occupied by fashion, Jasper was the next to volunteer. No one else seemed to need or want to hunt, so we left, racing as usual.

"I'm named the fastest for a reason!" I called back to my brothers in good humor. I turned around, just about to make another sprint, when the strangest scent caught my notice. I stopped, tilting my head to the wind. Jasper and Emmett stopped beside me, mimicking me.

"What is it you scent?" Jasper asked quietly.

Emmett snorted. "I think he's just stalling. Looks like he's not as confident as he thought he was."

I ignored their comments. "This way," was all the warning I gave before I was north-west bound as my highest speed. Even then, however, it still took nearly five minutes to reach the destination I sought. Soon enough, I came to a cave, but I didn't stop there. I dashed straight into the cave and came to a stop before a . . . box.

Confusion took me. What was a box doing in a cave? It was covered in moss, cobwebs, and God-only-knew-whatever-else.

Emmett and Jasper finally arrived, posing the same question as I originally had.

"What is a box doing in a cave this far out from civilization?" Jasper asked.

_Maybe it's a body_, Emmett thought, his interest suddenly peaking.

I dismissed his thought. "Don't be absurd, Emmett. If it were a body, it would smell of death and decay, not jasmine and freesia."

Jasper shrugged. "Should we just leave it here?"

After a moment of hesitation, I shook my head. "Let's take it back with us and show it to Carlisle."

And so, that was how we ended up with a coffin in our living room.

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_Edward POV_

"What is it?" Emmett asked with a hiked brow. Next to him stood Rosalie, his arm twined around her waist. Across from them both, Jasper and Alice stood with their hands clasped together. Carlisle and Esme still occupied the loveseat and I lounged on the three-seater's arm that was closest to Carlisle.

Carlisle stood and strode to the box, kneeling next to it and closely studying the words that lined the coffin's surface. "This is all written in Greek," Carlisle said, his words simultaneous with his thoughts. "I've never taken the time to actually learn the language, but I've seen enough of it that I can easily identify it." After five minutes more of studying the box, Carlisles straightened, a skeptical look on his face. "From what I can gauge, it's a slumber chamber."

I was the first to speak. "A slumber chamber?" I delved into my mind, sifting through every memory I had of Greece. "Greece didn't have slumber chambers. The only thing they had that was remotely close were bedrooms."

Carlisle shook his head. "They had them. An old friend of mine said that slumber chambers were reserved for those suspected to be vampires. The accused would be condemned to live the rest of eternity asleep in the chamber."

Rosalie snorted. "Ignoring the fact that no human could catch a vampire if their life depended on it, how did they expect a _vampire_ to _sleep_?"

Carlisle nodded, acknowledging Rosalie's point. "He said the ritual was a bit . . . inane. Many people don't know this – or simply refuse to recognize it – but there were priests and priestesses in the poorer societies of Greece. As it was such, the accused would be taken to these priests and the priests would call on Chronos, the god of time, and his consort, Ananke, the goddess of necessity."

I nodded, understanding the ancient Greeks' assumptions as I followed Carlisle's thoughts. The Greeks must have believed that Chronos – not to be confused with the Titan, Cronus – could somehow recall a vampire's mortal qualities and they believed that Ananke's power could amplify Chronos' by justifying that it was a "necessity" that the vampire be put to sleep.

"There's never been any proof to disprove the practice, however, if we base the theory on _our_ experiences, then, of course, the theory is then disproved."

"So . . .," Emmett inquired, rolling his wrist in a _hurry up_ motion, "can we open it?"

Carlisle shrugged. "I don't see why not. All we're likely to find is a skeleton."

A smile blazed across Emmett's face as he rushed to the box. He curled his fingertips around the edge of what was obviously the lid, trying to gain some sort of purchase. He hefted . . . but nothing happened. Emmett frowned in bemusement, trying again to lift it. The result was the same, begging concern and puzzlement from us all. Emmett was slightly stronger than the rest of us; if he couldn't lift the lid, which of us could?

Sudden energy flowed though me as Jazz stepped forward and then Carlisle. Soon enough, every one of my family members had tried; all except for me. I stepped forward, the same flow of energy surging through me as my fingers found the edge of the lid. I braced my feet, setting them apart from one another, . . . and lifted.

The lid came off with a soft _pop_.

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_Edward_

I slid the lid up and over the side of the slumber chamber, glancing inside. Alarm froze me. Inside was a girl whom couldn't have been anymore than seventeen. Her skin was fair and long, curly, dark brown hair framed a heart-shaped face. Her wide forehead was decorated by a widow's peak and her cheekbones were prominent, while her thin nose accentuated her narrow jaw and pointed chin. Her lips, a bit too full for her jaw, were as perfect as her eyelashes, which graced her cheekbones. She was slender and slightly muscled and, if she stood, she'd maybe stand at about five-foot-five.

She was beautiful.

My eyes flowed down her body and landed on her hands, intertwined in a symbol of some sort. I sifted through my memory but I'd not seen the symbol before. Frustrated at my lack of proper knowledge, I focused on her clothing. She wore a white one-shouldered peplos, a dress often worn by women in ancient Greece. The peplos was so long that it covered her feet and, from the one shoulder that kept it from falling, descended a sheer blue sleeve. The edges of the peplos were decorated by a deep blue thread that was sewn into the dress. She wore an intricate, golden armband around her sleeveless arm and a small, golden, jewel-encrusted tiara graced her crown.

"Oh my God," Alice whispered, leaning closer than I dared to. "That is the finest silk I have ever seen." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. A thought occurred to me and I tensed.

She had a heartbeat.

No sooner than I'd thought the words had the girl opened her eyes; they were a luminous, chocolate brown. She laid there for nearly five minutes, blinking slowly as if processing some strange sight.

"F . . . father?" she whispered frightfully. "Mother?"

I nearly swooned at the sound of her voice. It was the sound of tinkling bells in a gentle wind. She had an accent, a heavy one, and her voice was thick, as if it had not been used for a very long time.

"Do you know where you are?" Carlisle asked, and I could feel his mind shifting into that of a professional's. Carlisle was accustomed to handling disoriented patients.

"Who are you?" Surprisingly, a note of annoyance crept into her voice. "Where am I?"

"I just want to ask you a few questions," Carlisle calmly explained.

"You will ask me nothing!" she retorted, sitting up and quickly standing. She stepped from the slumber chamber on steady feet and we gave her a wide berth. Something seemed to occur to her and she glanced at each of us. "Which of you must I punish for accessing my chamber?" They all glanced at me and back again. The mystery woman strode to me, frowning as she came closer and closer. "Is it you?" she asked me.

Hesitantly, I nodded. "Yes."

She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and clenching her lush lips shut. "Fool," she spat finally. "You know not what you've done; you've slaughtered us all with your pure intentions."

"Hey," Rosalie snarled. "Who do you think you are? He just _saved_ you from dying of hunger in that blasted box. Show a bit of respect."

The girl scoffed. "_Saved_ me?" She angrily gestured to the box. "That _'box'_, as you so brilliantly put it, was the best possible way to protect me _and_ your own futures. Or lack thereof, as the case may now be." She clenched her lips shut again, nuzzling one of her knuckles as tears filled her eyes. "Father's effort was for naught."

I took a step closer, subconsciously drawn to her side. I halted when Alice growled. "I can't see her," she murmured angrily. "I can't even see around her!" My eyes widened a bit as I realized that I'd heard not a thought from her. Alice sighed her frustrations and turned to the girl, a gentle smile taking over her features. "What's your name?"

The girl examined Alice for a moment before surrendering. I shook my head; Alice could convince a murderer to become a saint, if she felt the need. "I am Isabella, daughter of Chronos, the god of time, and his consort, Ananke, the goddess of inevitability. Before the First War, I was an equal among the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus." Darkness filled her eyes. "Now, I've been reduced to nothing more than a coward, fleeing quicker than even Hermes' winged sandals could carry me."

Silence descended upon our living room before Rosalie cracked a grin and Emmett gripped his stomach, a hard laugh escaping him. His laugh died, however, when I gave him a hard stare, ignoring his thoughts as he mentally apologized. Rosalie, however, paid no mind to me.

"Seems like you've been without oxygen a bit longer than we'd originally estimated," she snickered.

"You will be silent," Isabella growled. "Speak another word against me, harbinger of death, I beg of you." I wasn't the only one surprised by the steel and threat of violence in her voice.

A jolt shot up my spine and I straightened abruptly. _She knows what we are._ The same thought ran through each of my family members' minds.

"What will you do?" Rosalie scoffed. "You believe you're the child of a god and goddess, beings that don't exist; and, if they do, then we've seen nothing of them."

Isabella narrowed her eyes. "A myth denying a myth; this day, behold: I've seen the impossible." She cocked her hip to the side, propping it on her chamber. "Have you never been to _Graeci_? Or even read the texts of my people?" At Rosalie's challenging glare, Isabella crossed her arms. "The gods and goddesses ever rarely left Mount Olympus."

Rosalie snorted. "How convenient."

Isabella rolled her eyes, sighing. "I am done with you; you will be dissatisfied with any answer given to you, be it lie or truth." She turned to me. "Since you deemed yourself worthy enough to unleash evil upon this world, tell me: what strange time have I awoken in?"

"Two-thousand and thirteen," I answered her immediately. Her eyes became wide as saucers as I finished my sentence and she collapsed onto the edge of her sleeping chamber, her hand covering her mouth. Her lips trembled as she wiped a tear away. Worriedly, I glanced at my family members. "What's wrong?" I finally asked.

Bitterly, she laughed. "Everything. Nothing at all." She lowered her head, her shoulders shaking slightly. She breathed in harshly, swiping angrily at her tears. "Should my summation prove to be correct . . . I would have been birthed five millennia ago."

Silence again descended, Isabella's claim at last silencing Rosalie. I shook my head. "You're human, Isabella; I can hear your heartbeat."

"What legend claims that a goddess relinquishes the pounding of her pulse at birth?" Isabella questioned, blinking slowly as if in shock. She swiveled her head in my direction. "I am Isabella, child of Chronos – the god and personification of time – and his consort, Ananke – the goddess of inevitability and personification of destiny, necessity, and fate. It was from Ananke's loins that my cries were first heard. It was my _γιατρός_, my healer, who confirmed the beat of my heart. I breath, I eat, I feel – but I do not live."

Carlisle took a step forward, interest shining in his eyes. "You're not alive? How can that be? Anything with a heartbeat lives."

Isabella shook her head. "I merely exist; I do not live. There is nothing that can kill a god or goddess – nothing but disbelief." Isabella sighed, slouching forward, her shoulders hunched. "Gods and goddesses alike have faded as they're worshippers have forgotten them. But, there are those such as Zeus, who needs no human to worship him. He is the god of sky and of weather. So long as even one of the two exists, his own existence is assured. Then, there are those such as Ares, the god of war, bloodshed, violence, manly courage, and civil order. If humanity were to ail and eventually die, Ares would fade with it. Gods such as Ares _need_ followers. Without humanity, there is no conflict and, thus, no bloodshed, violence, courage, or civil order to be had of war."

Silence greeted her words. "Which are you?" Carlisle asked. I could hear his mind working, trying to put together the puzzle before us.

Isabella looked to him, studying him as Aristotle had probably studied physics. Finally, she spoke. "I am the goddess of birthrights. So long as there is life, my existence is assured."

"So, your . . . existence also depends upon humans?"

Isabella shook her head. "No. My existence is secure in any instance. Anything born has a birthright. A human child's birthright is whatever may be left to it by its parents or even its mother's life. A lion cub's birthright is the ability to head its own pride. A wolf cub's birthright is the ability to head its own pack." She looked down. "I believe I've caused a misconception." She gestured to us. "In life or in death, there are birthrights. A birthright does not have to be claimed to be such. If a prince does not succeed his king, does that mean the birthright is no longer his?" She shook her head. "No, it does not. It simply means that he chose not to pursue it. So long as there are birthrights, claimed or no, the flame of my existence shall never waver."

I stared at her. _She's immortal_, I thought. Thoughts, ideas, sprung to the forefront of my mind. _Her hand in mine as I lowered my face to hers . . ._ I shook the thought from my head, chastising myself for such ideas. She was something unknown to us and, judging just from what we knew, she was the oldest living being we'd ever met – perhaps, even older than the Volturi. That thought alone should have pushed me away.

Instead, it drew me closer.

Suddenly, *I decided. _As long as I'm going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly._*

I strode to Isabella, grinning like a fool down at her. From the corner of my eye, I saw Esme perk up in interest; Carlisle shared a similar reaction. Rosalie's angry thoughts turned to those of disgust as Emmett's thoughts turned to . . . thoughts best left to darkness. Jasper's surprised expression turned to one of sudden realization as he read my mood and Alice's thoughts turned to a wedding. I knew that she'd once seen me standing alongside a woman whose face had been hidden in shadow as we'd said vows to one another.

I may have been soulless, but I prayed to whomever the Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus worshipped that the woman in Alice's vision was Isabella.

I bowed slightly to her, the memories of my mother's teachings on etiquette when courting a woman coming back to me in a rush. "Sorrow does not become you," I said gently, taking her hand. A shock shot up my arm and I could have sworn I felt my still heart move. Isabella sighed as our hands intertwined, our fingers lacing together.

A startled huff left Rosalie. "Did you two just . . . mate?"

Carlisle nodded. "I do believe they did."

Alice beamed. "'_In another moment, down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again._'" She quoted Lewis Carroll in a perfect British accent.

I smirked. "Who said anything about coming out?"

_We mated . . . ._ The thought startled me. Each of my family members had tried more than once to explain the process to me, but each attempt had ended in disaster and misconceptions. I then saw why; there was no way I'd ever be able to explain the sudden joy that her touch, her presence, her _scent_ brought to me.

I gazed at her, leaning my forehead against hers. "I'd resigned myself to spending eternity alone," I murmured. "And yet, here's my cavalry, here to save me from the wretched thoughts of my loneliness." Silence greeted my spoken revelation, even as I heard every one of my family member's mental agreements with it – all except for Alice. I sighed in frustration, my hand coming to rest on Isabella's warm cheek. *"Would you please tell me what you're thinking? _Before_ I go mad?"*

It startled and wounded me when she leaned away from me, tugging her hand from mine. "My thoughts are toward my past," she explained, edging away from me. "I am already betrothed."

My breath stopped. _Time_ itself seemed to halt. "To whom?" I heard my voice, but wasn't at all sure that I'd been the one to speak.

"Apollo," she spat, her fist clenching as it rested in her lap. "My betrothed is Apollo."

"But, the legends say that Apollo was never married, or even engaged," Carlisle pointed out.

She shook her head. "We were denied the option of announcing it when . . . ." She trailed off, her eyes drifting to her slumber chamber. "In any case, my hand is taken."

I looked down. "But not your heart."

Isabella shifted uncomfortably. "Despite what human myth would have you believe, Apollo was not at all as he was portrayed. He was cruel and childish and his belief in his own perfection made him vain. He was ruthless in his love affairs, never once caring for any one woman that he bedded. He was a petulant and angry god." She looked away. "Had he been more man than boy, he still would not have been deserving of my heart."

I sighed. "Then, why are you staying faithful to him?"

She turned on me. "Hear me well: I occupied Mount Olympus for seventeen years of my five millennia; I am Isabella, goddess of birthrights. By my name, gave I Apollo my word. Only my betrothed's death or his betrayal shall sway me."

Though ashamed of my own insolence and guilty because of what I'd just asked of her, I stared at her, willing her to see my soul, willing her to see every string that had just realigned my heart and strung themselves to her existence.

I knew instinctively that her denial could very well cost me whatever part of my soul Carlisle believed I had left.

The next time I spoke, my voice was harsh. "Is there no way I can change your mind?"

Isabella bowed her head and sighed heavily. When she looked at me again, I saw determination and hesitation battling for dominance in her eyes. "Take me to Mount Olympus," she demanded. "We shall see if Apollo survived."

All of a second ticked by before Alice gleefully squealed, "_Shopping trip!_"

And all of a minute floated by before I finally regained the intelligence to wonder exactly what Apollo might not have survived.

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**Ninety Years**** – this fanfic starts at about the same point as the book, except, of course, that Bella doesn't first meet the Cullens in school.**

**Carlisle and Esme in the basement; Rosalie and Emmett on the first floor – with the living room; Alice and Jasper on the third floor – with the kitchen; and me in the attic**** – the house is the same as in the movie**

**Slumber Chamber**** – I'm honestly not completely sure they had these in ancient Greek; it's just something I made up.**

**Titan(s)**** – a primeval race of powerful deities that ruled during the Golden Age; they were huge, immortal beings of incredible strength and stamina; they were the first gods and goddesses and were overthrown by the Olympians**

**Cronus**** – the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans**

**Mount Olympus**** – home of the Olympian gods and goddesses**

**Hermes**** – Greek god of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, thievery, trickery, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics, and animal husbandry; he was the messenger of the gods; he led the dead into the afterlife**

_**Graeci**__** – **_**Greece in Greek**

**Lewis Carroll**** – the writer of **_**Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**_

**Apollo**** – Greek god of prophecy, oracles, healing, plague, disease, music, song, poetry, archery, and the protection of the young**


End file.
